The Seattle Seahawks can finish no worse than No. 3 in the NFC but they are not taking their foot off the gas in Week 17. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll gave no indication that the team would be resting Rusell Wilson or any of the other starters against the 49ers in the season finale. Carroll noted the Seahawks plan on “going all-out again this week.”
“We’re going for it, we would love to have that break for players if we can get it,” Carroll said, per Seahawks.com. “… We’re playing for it, because it’s good for you, it’s good for your body and all that, so we’re going to try to take care of business and get that thing if it’s possible. So we’re going all-out again this week. There’s no other thought than this is a championship opportunity to put ourselves in the best situation going into the playoffs.”
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Seahawks Need Help From the Packers & Saints to Land the No. 1 Seed
The Seahawks would need some help to move higher than No. 3 in the NFC. Seattle still has a small chance at the No. 1 seed but would need Green Bay to lose to Chicago, and Carolina to top New Orleans to grab a first-round bye. The Seahawks would also need to defeat the Niners along with the Packers and Saints losing to have a chance at the No. 1 seed.
The NFL expanded to seven playoff teams in each conference which means the No. 2 seed no longer gets a first-round bye. Carroll added that playing Week 17 as they have any other game this season is important to maintain the mentality needed to have postseason success.
“The other side of this is maintaining the consistency and maintaining the regiment that we have and the mentality that we have, I don’t want to break that thing right now, I don’t want to break that mentality at all,” Carroll continued. “We want to stay right with it and keep pushing, trying to get better. We’ve got a lot of room to get better, we made a lot of mistakes that we can fix during the course of this week for the next game and leading into the next couple games and all that. So I don’t like taking the chance of breaking the mentality.”
The Seahawks Would Host the Rams if the Playoffs Started Today
Last season, the Week 17 matchup between the Niners and Seahawks decided the division title. San Francisco has been decimated by injuries this season taking them out of contention for a postseason spot. The game can still impact the Seahawks postseason matchup as Seattle is looking to secure the best possible seed.
Heading into Week 17, the No. 3 Seahawks would get a rematch with the No. 6 Rams in their opening playoff matchup if the current standings hold. The Rams could still miss the playoffs as the team faces the Cardinals in their season finale without starting quarterback Jared Goff. The Seahawks have a wide range of other possible playoff opponents depending on the final seeding including the Cardinals, Bears and Buccaneers.
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Seahawks Make Final Decision on Resting Russell Wilson & Starters